If the Redskins signed Peyton Manning, Chris Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, Darelle Revis, and Troy Polamalu I still wouldn't be worried because Snyder would mess it up somehow. Don't get me wrong, I wanted Atogwe here too after the disastrous safety year we had, but with him being on the Redskins I know he's going to be wasted somehow.

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"If you have one finger pointing at somebody, you have three pointing towards yourself."
~Nigerian Proverb

I readily admit he's a stud talent, and could be a top 3 WR in the league. But at the same time, where theres smoke, theres fire. And the guy is just in the news way too much for me to believe that its all just the media being anticowboys or whatever other conspiracy theory fans want to float out there.

I readily admit he's a stud talent, and could be a top 3 WR in the league. But at the same time, where theres smoke, theres fire. And the guy is just in the news way too much for me to believe that its all just the media being anticowboys or whatever other conspiracy theory fans want to float out there.

I'm not really concerned because I don't think he's a bad guy or would do anything to jeopardize his career or relationship with the team. When he broke his leg and was getting around by wheelchair he supposedly would go to the Northpark Mall and perform wheelies inside, not really how a professional should conduct themselves but it's not criminal behavior. Does he act like a child sometimes? Yea. But this is a 22 year old kid from the ghetto who just struck the Lotto, he's not going to all of a sudden carry himself like Tim Tebow. He's a little immature for his age but so are a lot of guys who came out of the same situation as him and they turned out fine. Heck, Deion Sanders is sounding like such a hypocrite with his "severed ties" talk, IIRC Primetime was an attention ***** who made rap videos and sported huge gold ropes when he first got in the league, sound familiar?

Dez is like a little kid, that's how he plays the game and that's how he acts off the field. As long as he doesn't break the law, produces on the field and brings energy to the team... *shrug* I could care less.

The only thing that worried me was what Deion said. The sagging thing was clearly a cop wanting to start **** with a celebrity. I've been to Northpark and have seen people sagging their pants. Hell some of the rich kids do it for some reason. Calling Dez out for doing it when others do it is just funny. I actually saw the guy at Wal-mart here, and he was sagging his pants. I hate that **** but I don't give a damn. There are no laws against it, so it's no big deal. Supposedly the mall called off the ban early. Who knows? Either way it goes it's ridiculous. If he got into it with someone I can understand, but sagging his pants and being told to pull them up? He's a grown ass man. He can dress the way he wants. Part of it also could just be

The Deion thing worries me because Deion has more clout. Yeah, Deion did some stupid things when he was younger too, but that doesn't mean he has to condone it now. If it's the Under Armor thing then it's just Deion sticking with his sponsor. Time will tell on that one, but considering that Deion and Pacman are still cool it is kinda fishy. Still, it shows that Dez needs to mature a bit.

Now there's another story about him buying jewelry and not paying all of it. Young man being dumb with his money? Highly contagious in sports. Right now this lockout needs to end so they have something better to talk about. Next week it'll be, "Dez Bryant took a dump in the restroom at local restaurant. Eyewitnesses claim that it smelled terrible. What are the Cowboys going to do about this behavior?" I'm sure that Dez has some issues with maturity, but right now people are mining like crazy to find something on the guy. I'll stick with what I said last year. If players and coaches start complaining about him slacking off, or he gets arrested for something I'll worry my ass off. Until then it's just news for the sake of controversy.

__________________
"If you have one finger pointing at somebody, you have three pointing towards yourself."
~Nigerian Proverb

The only thing that worried me was what Deion said. The sagging thing was clearly a cop wanting to start **** with a celebrity. I've been to Northpark and have seen people sagging their pants. Hell some of the rich kids do it for some reason. Calling Dez out for doing it when others do it is just funny. I actually saw the guy at Wal-mart here, and he was sagging his pants. I hate that **** but I don't give a damn. There are no laws against it, so it's no big deal. Supposedly the mall called off the ban early. Who knows? Either way it goes it's ridiculous. If he got into it with someone I can understand, but sagging his pants and being told to pull them up? He's a grown ass man. He can dress the way he wants. Part of it also could just be

The Deion thing worries me because Deion has more clout. Yeah, Deion did some stupid things when he was younger too, but that doesn't mean he has to condone it now. If it's the Under Armor thing then it's just Deion sticking with his sponsor. Time will tell on that one, but considering that Deion and Pacman are still cool it is kinda fishy. Still, it shows that Dez needs to mature a bit.

Now there's another story about him buying jewelry and not paying all of it. Young man being dumb with his money? Highly contagious in sports. Right now this lockout needs to end so they have something better to talk about. Next week it'll be, "Dez Bryant took a dump in the restroom at local restaurant. Eyewitnesses claim that it smelled terrible. What are the Cowboys going to do about this behavior?" I'm sure that Dez has some issues with maturity, but right now people are mining like crazy to find something on the guy. I'll stick with what I said last year. If players and coaches start complaining about him slacking off, or he gets arrested for something I'll worry my ass off. Until then it's just news for the sake of controversy.

If Deion looks out for anyone it's himself. Not ditching Dez when he trashed Under Armor would of meant losing money which wasn't going to happen. The fact that Deion and Dez are no longer 'friends' speaks more to the fact that Deion likes money more than it does that he doesn't like keeping 'poor' company as evidenced by his continued friendship with a 'true' criminal Pacman.

Dez most definitely needs to mature a tad. He couldn't of expected to walk around an upscale mall (and associated snobbery) where he has been in trouble previously (cutting in line, parking in fire lanes, etc) with snaggy pants without garning extra attention.

I agree. I lost some respect for Deion during his interview with the Ticket. He actually implied that Pac Man is a 'better kid' than Dez because he's honest. If he thinks Pac Man is a better human than Dez, that tells me all I need to know.

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In war, you win or lose, live or die - and the difference is just an eyelash.

This question has been floating around a bit but does anyone think Free will get offended if we draft Tyron at 9? He's a FA whenever the lockout is over and he'll be looking for longterm LT money, IDK how drafting a LT in the top 10 will affect him. We can't afford to lose him and this is something we have to consider.

This question has been floating around a bit but does anyone think Free will get offended if we draft Tyron at 9? He's a FA whenever the lockout is over and he'll be looking for longterm LT money, IDK how drafting a LT in the top 10 will affect him. We can't afford to lose him and this is something we have to consider.

Jerry pays players that contribute to us. He was graded as the top run blocking tackle on the year. He exceeded expectations and imo is a lock to get a new deal. But new deals aren't going to get handed out till we have a cap number or an uncapped year...

The whole RT vs. LT argument goes a bit moot over the past couple of years. You face just as many elite edge rushers from the right side as you do the left side in the NFL East...and you draft to win the division. RT was an achilles heal for us and Tyron I'm hear is actually more natural on the right side because his kick slide looks so much more natural. Now I'm not saying he can't play the left...just saying why bother when we need a RT anyways.

I don't think Free would be offended. Smith would probably play at RT, and if they thought he was best at LT then I'm sure Free wouldn't mind playing on the right side again. Like what Thule just said, it's not a huge difference playing both sides anymore. The only factor was playing the opposing team's best pass rusher, and now they're going to bring them on both sides anyway. I don't think it would bother Free at all unless he has some kind of big ego or something.

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"If you have one finger pointing at somebody, you have three pointing towards yourself."
~Nigerian Proverb

Did anyone else catch that quote by Martellus Bennett about how he hopes there is open competition at QB this year. I can't stand this guy, he's been nothing but a waste of a high draft choice and he runs his mouth like he can say whatever he wants. By FAR my most hated player on the team, he's more interested in making rap songs or becoming a twitter celebrity than he is in becoming a better football player. Can we just cut him already?

He's a easy guy to paint as the bad guy...I think your personal vendetta against him has you reading too much into this.

IDK, If you listen to the interview he singled out the QB position before he mentioned anything about competition at every position. It certainly sounds like a jab at Romo and for a guy who's going into his 4th year he should know better than to publicly question your faith in your franchise QB.

IDK, If you listen to the interview he singled out the QB position before he mentioned anything about competition at every position. It certainly sounds like a jab at Romo and for a guy who's going into his 4th year he should know better than to publicly question your faith in your franchise QB.

Well, as we all know, he plays behind Jason Witten. I am sure he feels like Tony looks to Witten more often then Marty B. If Marty would work a little harder on football and less on being an @$$, Romo would probably have more confidence in him, and therefore throw him the ball more.

Can someone remind me why we didnt go ahead and trade him for a 2nd round pick when we were offered?

I think he gets a little more of a bad rap than he deserves. I heard so much bad stuff about his Youtube videos, and got mad based on what I had heard. Then I went and watched them. Not only did I find them funny as heck, I immediately thought to myself, "what is the big deal?" I seriously could not tell why they were news at all.

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ESPN will take a cast of less than thousands to Radio City
Posted by Mike Florio on April 13, 2011, 3:03 PM EDT
The folks at ESPN like to acknowledge the significance of a big event by assigning a large number of people to it. Richard Deitsch of SI.com, via SportsBusiness Daily, reports that this strategy won’t be employed during the 2011 NFL draft.

Per Deistch, the first two days of the draft will feature only Chris Berman, Mel Kiper, and Jon Gruden at the grown-ups’ table, with Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen reporting from a separate location at Radio City Music Hall, and with Suzy Kolber doing player interviews from the green room.

On Saturday, Trey Wingo, Kiper, Todd McShay, and Trent Dilfer take over for the final four rounds.

In Bristol, Kolber will anchor on Day Three a discussion including Herm Edwards, Tedy Bruschi, and Ron Jaworski.

Of course, maybe ESPN isn’t giving short shrift to a big event. Maybe ESPN is gauging the personnel based on the anticipated interest in the draft.

A feeling has emerged that there’s less interest in the draft than usual, even though it could be the only NFL-related event through September. And possibly through February.

Some of the financial stuff is interesting — the league wants to divert $300 million-per-year from first-round picks to veterans — but the fine print is fascinating.

According to Barry Wilner, the league wants to eliminate holdouts by “reducing the maximum allowable salary if a rookie isn’t signed when training camp begins.”

Basically, you start losing serious money the moment you start to miss camp. The league wants to take this holdout idea even further.

“The NFL also suggested eliminating holdouts for all veterans by prohibiting renegotiations of contracts if a player holds out in the preseason,” Wilner writers.

Good luck with that.

Eliminating holdouts in rookie contracts would be a big pill for the NFLPA* to swallow. It’s hard to imagine the union giving up the leverage of a veteran holdout, when it’s often the only leverage veterans have.

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Email Team needs: Oakland Raiders
Posted by Evan Silva on April 13, 2011, 2:25 PM EDT
APWe kick off AFC West team needs with the Oakland Raiders. Don’t take too long a look at this picture to the right, unless you have a paper bag handy.

Otherwise, you might lose your lunch.

OL: The Raiders have ranked in the top six in sacks allowed for two straight seasons, and in the top 11 in six consecutive years. Offensive linemen apparently don’t run fast enough forty times for “Coach” Al Davis to deem them worthy of premium picks; he hasn’t drafted one earlier than round three since 2004. Barring an unlikely trade up, Davis may not buck that ugly trend this year because he already traded away his 2011 first-round pick. The Raiders will likely lose starting tackle Mario Henderson to free agency. (Not that he’s any good, anyway.) Center Samson Satele, right tackle/guard Langston Walker, and left guard Robert Gallery’s contracts are also up. The latter is Oakland’s top lineman.

CB: Free agent Nnamdi Asomugha’s likely departure gets the headlines. The Raiders are set at one corner spot with underrated Stanford Routt, but the position opposite him has too many question marks for comfort. Though Walter McFadden has the speed Davis craves, he earned all of 50 snaps last season. Oakland hasn’t shown much faith in veteran Chris Johnson in recent years, and there’s little behind them. The Raiders’ cornerback weaknesses are exacerbated by free agent safety Michael Huff’s probable exit. Huff had a breakout year in 2010.

QB: New coach Hue Jackson is high on Jason Campbell, so much so that the Raiders failed to tender Bruce Gradkowski as a restricted free agent. But Campbell is more stopgap solution than franchise quarterback, and is entering a contract year. Oakland has shown interest in Nevada’s Colin Kaepernick, who figures to get serious consideration if he’s still available at the No. 48 pick in the draft.

LB: The Raiders should be set in the middle with 2010 No. 8 overall pick Rolando McClain, but there’s a hole across from strong-side ‘backer Kamerion Wimbley. Incumbent weak-side starter Quentin Groves is more of a situational pass rusher than every-down player, and former second-round pick Thomas Howard is no longer part of the Raiders’ plans.

Overview: The Raiders made noticeable strides last season, going 8-8 and undefeated in the division. Top to bottom, their roster is as strong as its been since the early 2000s.

But Davis must get serious about upgrading his offensive line. Campbell has a deliberate release that hinders pass protection, and the Raiders don’t have enough talent in front of him to make up for it. If Oakland does solve this weakness, it can become a true contender in the AFC.

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Email Brady’s perceived slap against insurance salesmen makes waves
Posted by Mike Florio on April 13, 2011, 2:21 PM EDT
Getty ImagesAs pointed out in today’ One-Liners, Peter King’s Tuesday edition of MMQB addresses the comment that Tom Brady made during The Brady 6 regarding the relief he felt once he was taken in round 6, pick No. 199, of the 2000 draft.

“I don’t have to be an insurance salesman!” Brady told Steve Sabol through tears regarding the moment he learned he was heading to the NFL. (It was the last interview Sabol did before suffering a seizure that resulted in the discovery of a cancerous brain tumor.)

One of King’s readers suggested that Brady owes insurance salesmen an apology. King disagrees.

“If you’re Brady, and you got drafted by the Montreal Expos out of high school, and you had college teams chasing you to be a major-college quarterback, and you play at a high level for a Big 10 team, you’re going to be pretty disappointed if you end up selling insurance and not playing a sport professionally,” King said. “Maybe he owes all insurance salesmen an apology, but I’m sure you can see where the guy was coming from.”

Making Brady’s comments even more understandable is the fact that his father was an insurance salesman. Tom Jr. would have been entering the family business. (Trust me, I’m not trying to find a way to give Brady the benefit of the doubt here; I’m still pissed that he said during the show that former West Virginia quarterback Marc Bulger, one of the successful members of the “Brady 6,” went to a “small school.”)

But if insurance salesmen are upset, they shouldn’t be. Do kids aspire to grow up one day and sell insurance? Sure, it can be lucrative, especially for those at the top of the pyramid-style commission structure that plenty of insurance companies use. But I’ve never met a single insurance agent who viewed selling insurance as the realization of a lifelong dream.

For former athletes who wanted to get paid to play sports, it’s a fallback job, a way to take advantage of name recognition and fan loyalty to steer in their direction money that is destined to be spent. By saying that he didn’t have to be an insurance salesman, Brady was essentially saying he didn’t want to pursue his fallback option.

Considering the manner in which his first choice has worked out, it’s obvious why he didn’t want to sell insurance.

For those of you who missed The Brady 6, it’ll be shown on ESPN2 this Sunday, April 17, at 4:00 p.m.

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Email Madden release date moves back three weeks
Posted by Mike Florio on April 13, 2011, 1:49 PM EDT
With the lockout lingering, the folks at EA are feeling the effects of the labor impasse. And so will the rest of us.

Eric Fisher of SportsBusiness Journal reports that the release date for the latest version of the Madden franchise has been pushed back three weeks, from August 9 to August 30.

There are several possible reasons for the move. The delay gives the folks at EA some extra time in the event the dispute is resolved before the start of training camp, which would give them an opportunity to shuffle free agents to their new teams.

Also, if the dispute hasn’t been resolved, EA can market a game that’s released on the Tuesday before Labor Day weekend as the next best thing to real football.

And if the powers-that-be wake up and get a deal done in late August, fans can celebrate the end of the lockout by purchasing the Madden game.

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Email Cowboys will avoid three city training camp tour this year
Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on April 13, 2011, 1:45 PM EDT
Getty ImagesThe Cowboys have canceled the California portion of their three-city training camp circus.

The team’s three-city tour split time between Dallas, San Antonio and Oxnard, California last year. The results weren’t great: Dallas stunk in the preseason, and it carried over into a terrible start to the year.

Instead, Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that the Cowboys plans to simply spend three weeks in San Antonio this year before heading back to Dallas.

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Email More red flags for Nick Fairley: He’s irresponsible, too
Posted by Evan Silva on April 13, 2011, 12:47 PM EDT
Auburn defensive tackle Nick Fairley’s draft stock has allegedly dropped since the end of the college season, when he was considered in most circles to be the Panthers’ likely choice at No. 1 overall.

The “one-year wonder” label is understandable. Fairley spent two seasons at Auburn, and was productive in only one of them. Fairley’s on-field effort has also been questioned. What we never quite fully grasped were character concerns, mostly because there was nothing specific to make them believable.

Now, there is.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on SportsCenter Wednesday morning that Fairley has exhibited irresponsible decision making throughout the pre-draft process. Fairley missed his flight to Indianapolis for February’s Scouting Combine, skipped a meeting with a team there, and was also late to a team meeting at Auburn’s Pro Day.

We suppose it’s for all the above reasons that NFL teams are “privately comparing” Fairley to Albert Haynesworth.

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Email Fitzgerald sends Cardinals a message: Don’t draft a quarterback
Posted by Evan Silva on April 13, 2011, 12:27 PM EDT
Getty ImagesThe Arizona Cardinals have been heavily connected to quarterbacks in the draft, particularly Blaine Gabbert of Missouri. They held a private workout for Gabbert on March 23, sending a large contingent of high-ranking club officials to Columbia.

All along, beat reporters Kent Somers (Arizona Republic) and Darren Urban (AZCardinals.com) have warned against reading into the supposed interest, predicting the Cardinals will take an instant impact defender as opposed to a quarterback in need of development with the No. 5 overall pick.

Coach Ken Whisenhunt’s recent comments about this year’s quarterback class appeared to support Somers and Urban’s beliefs, and so too do face of the franchise receiver Larry Fitzgerald’s.

“I would doubt that we would draft a quarterback that high (No. 5),” Fitzgerald told FOX Sports Arizona on Tuesday. “I would doubt it. But, who am I? I’m just a player.”

Fitzgerald would prefer “Anybody that’s going to help us win” playing under center for the Cardinals in 2011.

It sounds like Arizona’s All-Pro receiver, who just so happens to be entering a contract year, is sending upper management a direct message: He wants a veteran (Marc Bulger?) throwing him the rock next season.

Not Blaine Gabbert.

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Email Alex Smith has offer from 49ers, skin like an armadillo
Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on April 13, 2011, 12:03 PM EDT
APJim Harbaugh’s interest in bringing Alex Smith back to the 49ers is not just an act.

Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee reports that the 49ers made a one-year offer to Smith before the work stoppage, but Smith decided to choose to see what’s behind door No. 2 in free agency.

Smith won’t necessarily find a better chance to start or a better contract elsewhere, so there’s a solid chance he could return. Harbaugh continues to talk up Smith, saying he would have a fresh start with a new coaching staff. Harbaught isn’t worried about fan reaction.

“Well, the question is, ‘Do you have baby deer skin or skin like an armadillo?,” Harbaugh said. “That’s where the rubber meets the road there. If someone doesn’t like me or doesn’t cheer loud for me – is he going to be deep and emotionally scarred by that? I mean, most true competitors, most men like that would take offense to somebody inferring that about him.”

Harbaugh believes Smith has armadillo skin. The better question: Does Smith have the skills to excel as an NFL quarterback?

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Email Kenny Britt charged with felony, court date is April 19
Posted by Evan Silva on April 13, 2011, 11:54 AM EDT
APArrested Tuesday on multiple charges, including fleeing and lying to police officers, Titans wide receiver Kenny Britt’s day in court has been scheduled for April 19 in Hudson County (NJ) Superior Court.

Police Sgt. James Kuklinski informed the Nashville Tennessean that Britt has been formally charged with eluding an officer, lying to an officer hindering apprehension, and obstructing governmental function following a police stop.

Eluding officers is Britt’s most potentially detrimental charge. It’s a third-degree felony, and something that could put him behind bars. The other two charges are misdemeanors.

The Tennessean contacted the Titans, but the team had no comment.

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Email PFT Live opens the phone lines, again
Posted by Mike Florio on April 13, 2011, 11:46 AM EDT
On today’s edition of ProFootballTalk Live, we’ll be joined by Albert Breer of NFL Network, who is monitoring in Minnesota the mediation that commences tomorrow.

Then, to close the show, we’ll open the phone and e-mail and Twitter lines to respond to your questions.

We’ve selected the e-mails and tweets to which we’ll respond. Now we need the calls.

We know that Sam Francisco from San Francisco will be calling (he’s our Chris in Syracuse). The question is whether you’ll join him in the queue.

The lines open at 12:15 p.m. ET, or 9:15 a.m. PT Sam Francisco time. The number to call is 888-237-5269.

Watch the show live right here at noon ET.

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Email Gary Plummer’s radio detour may have ended his radio job
Posted by Mike Florio on April 13, 2011, 11:29 AM EDT
Getty ImagesEven during the lockout, there’s no shortage of interesting NFL-related stories.

Recently, the 49ers parted ways with former linebacker Gary Plummer, who had been working as a color analyst on the team’s radio broadcasts. Though Plummer thinks the team believes he was too critical of a franchise that lately has deserved plenty of criticism, the folks at Deadspin uncovered a raunchy interview given by Plummer earlier this year, which possibly prompted the move.

Plummer thinks that the sexually graphic comments were a pretext for dumping a guy who spent too much time dumping on the 49ers.

“It was a convenient excuse to get rid of somebody who told the truth,” Plummer told the San Jose Mercury News.

“I literally asked them, ‘How much powdered sugar do you want me to put on dog [waste] to make it taste good?” Plummer said when he was confronted about his remarks about the team during the 2010 season. “We’re 0-5. We’re last in the league in offense, and we’ve had three players quit.”

The Niners have denied that Plummer was fired for his on-air candor during games, and the team wouldn’t say whether he was fired for his on-air candor regarding sexual activities and exploits.

“The 49ers thank Gary for his services to the organization as a player and as a broadcaster,” the team told the Mercury News. “We wish him all the best.”

Litigation could be in the offing, especially since Plummer is saying that nothing in his contract was violated by doing a raunchy radio interview. We’d need to see the contract before agreeing with that one, especially since we suspect that any deal of this nature contains sufficiently general language that could be invoked when the employee engages in questionable conduct on his own time. Moreover, most of those deals permit “without cause” terminations, if certain procedures are followed.

And Plummer seems to realize he shouldn’t have been so specific or detailed during a segment that not only included talk about his own sexual activities but that disclosed embarrassing details about the 49ers sexual exploits during their heyday of the 1990s, including players cajoling team employees into getting phone numbers from female fans and players engaged in certain activities best conducted behind closed doors in the vicinity of the team bus.

“I regret that I didn’t get an opportunity to listen or edit it first,” Plummer said. Which is probably the closest he’ll ever come to admitting what he now knows.

That he never should have done the interview.

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Email Andre Gurode: We’ll approach Dez as a group
Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on April 13, 2011, 11:20 AM EDT
APOne positive for Dez Bryant: He’s basically stayed out of the news the last week, which is a sign of progress during a tumultuous offseason.

Cowboys center Andre Gurode says Bryant’s teammates will do their best to try to help Bryant stay out of the news longer.

“I think we will approach him as a group and we all want the best for Dez and we all will reach out or have reached out to try to get in contact with him and tell him that this is a situation you’re going through and we want you to get through it and get over it and if you need any help to call us and we’ll definitely sit down and talk to you,” Gurode said 105.3 The Fan, via the Dallas Morning News.

It sounds like Bryant could use an older teammate or two to help show him the way. First he needs to be willing to take that sort of mentoring, which didn’t happen with Deion Sanders or even his personal adviser.